Albuquerque Theatre Guild Announces 'Recognizing New Mexico's Theatrical Past' Symposium, 10/27

The Albuquerque Theatre Guild and the American Theatre Archive Project present a one-day, interactive symposium on Saturday, October 27, 2012 in the Salon Ortega at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Titled Recognizing New Mexico's Theatrical Past, Present and Future: An Interactive Symposium, the free event will take attendees on a tour of how theatrical performances have been a part of the lives of New Mexicans for over 400 years. It explores the role of New Mexicans in creating and preserving that history for future generations.

"Because theatre is an ephemeral art, historical information about New Mexico's performance heritage often remains scattered and difficult to uncover," says Hugh Witemeyer, President of the ABQ Theatre Guild. "For that reason, the symposium will address the necessity for developing practices that will ensure that the ongoing history of theatre in New Mexico will be accessible to future generations. In addition, the symposium will explore some of the specific things that theatre companies and individuals might do to insure that our state's theatrical history will be preserved for the future."

The event begins at 10 am with registration. The keynote address, "400 Years of New Mexico Theatre History," will be given by Dr. Brian Herrera, professor Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts.

Two interactive sessions in the afternoon invite participants to consider the role of archives in preserving the legacy of theatre and demonstrate how archival practices can support and sustain the day-to-day work of an active theater company. Both sessions, "Living Theatre Archives: A Gateway to Cultural History" and "Documenting Cultural History as It Happens: A Primer in Archival Practices," will be presented by Dr. Ken Cerniglia, dramaturg and literary manager for Disney Theatrical Group and Susan Brady, archivist/librarian at Yale University.

A project of the Albuquerque Theatre Guild and the American Theatre Archive Project, with funding from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the event is free and open to the public, and of special interest to New Mexico Theatre companies, librarians, historians, theatre memorabilia collectors and theatre-lovers. For more information on the event, visit www.abqtheatre.org or contact the ABQ Theatre Guild at info@abqtheatre.org.